American grant project MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) Vice President Cameron S. Alford is coming on a three-day visit to Nepal on Tuesday afternoon.
Alford, the Head of the Compact Operations Department of MCC, is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu this evening via Qatar to participate in the official program of the MCC implementation at the Ministry of Finance on August 30.
After Cameron's visit, Senator Chris Van Hollen, a member of the US Senate's Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committee, is scheduled to visit Nepal in the first week of September. It is said that he will visit MCC, other US-aided projects and areas of local cultural importance.
During his stay in Nepal, Cameron is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and leaders of major political parties. He will return to the US via Qatar on September 1.
Pushkar Mathema, media coordinator of MCA Nepal, informed that the MCC will be implemented through a formal program at the Ministry of Finance on August 30.
There is no plan to make the signing ceremony grand and lavish. But it will be announced that the MCC has entered the implementation stage after making a formal program," he said.
The Ministry of Finance is preparing to announce the implementation of MCC through a 'Letter of Exchange' between Nepal and American officials.
With the ceremony, the five-year period of MCC operation will begin. If the MCC project is not completed on time as agreed, the entire cost will have to be borne by the Government of Nepal.
According to the MCC agreement, the United States will give Nepal 500 million US dollars i.e. about 60 billion rupees. Nepal also has an agreement to invest 130 million dollars i.e. about 17 billion for the MCC project.
Five years ago, the MoU of MCC Compact was signed between Nepal and America. The MCC, which has been mired in controversy for a long time, is about to be implemented after 18 months of approval by the Federal Parliament of Nepal.
After the implementation of the MCC project, its chief executive officer Alice P. Albright is scheduled to come to Nepal in September, MCA Nepal informed Nepalkhabar that. But after Cameron's visit, sources say that Albright will not visit Nepal.
Before the implementation of the MCC project, US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu visited Nepal in the second week of last July. Similarly, earlier MCC Vice President Fatema Z. Sumar visited Nepal in September 2021 and pressured the Nepali leaders to approve the MCC from the parliament as soon as possible.
The influential Senator Hollen of the Democratic Party, who is going to come to Nepal after the announcement of the implementation of the MCC project, has also done a commendable job in Nepal-US relations. He played an important role in providing health supplies to Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During his stay in Nepal, Senator Hollen will also meet with government officials, youth leaders, parliamentarians, representatives of civil society, representatives of non-profit organizations and businessmen.
